Subscores
GoPro has become a staple of the booming sports mini-cam market. Released in late 2011, the HD Hero2 has corrected some of the issues that afflicted the previous versions, with greater connectivity and a more intuitive design.
Handling
One thing you need to know about the Hero2 (in the case of this review, the Outdoor Edition) is that it is a package. Carefully nested inside a see-through box, it comes with a variety of accessories: a head strap, adhesive supports, a pivoting mount and a waterproof housing (the Hero2 can go to depths of up to 60 metres), allowing you to install the camera on your car, helmet or handlebar. And each accessory is compatible with previous version of GoPro.
The boxy, rectangular shape of the all-plastic casing gives it a strikingly different look than most of its kind. The HD Hero2 is a remarkably light and compact camcorder. It can be used along with the waterproof and shockproof see-through housing, so you have nothing to fear while you're flying down a steep slope. To turn the camcorder on, you hold down the button on the front for a few seconds, and a light turns on. Then you use the same button to select Photo mode, Video mode or Settings. To start recording you simply press the second button and a red light turns on to tell you it's rolling.
A mini-HDMI port enables you to connect the GoPro to a flat-screen HD TV screen and there's an audio mini-jack for plugging in an external microphone, which is rare on this type of device. This little "extra" makes the Hero2 handy for interviewing friends or sports legends. With the USB port you can backup the videos stored on your SD card and charge the battery. An analog TV port allows you to watch your videos on an an ordinary TV screen. The GoPro extension port lets you attach the various BacPac accessories, such as the LCD viewing screen or a long-life battery.
There is a small piece of film in the battery compartment that is no less than a heating system that regulates the temperature of the battery to prevent it from running out faster due to cold weather.
The minuscule LCD next to the lens is obviously not for viewing images, but for reading info such as icons, the timecode, the time remaining on the card (or number of photos in photo mode), resolution, number of images per second and the angle of view. Switching between video and photo mode, however, is rather slow.
Picture Quality
The GoPro Hero2 has an 11-Megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, which renders photos in the same resolution. But obviously the whole point behind the GoPro Hero2 is the video function. Worthy of the Full HD label, the GoPro films in 1920 x 1080 resolution at 30 frames per second and 1280 x 720 at 60 frames per second (the version we tested was on US standards). There's also a 120-frames-per-second mode for slow motion, but at a lower resolution of 848 x 480 pixels, which is still far from terrible.
The f/2.8 lens has a fixed focal length (so no zoom), which is fairly common with this type of camera. GoPro provides no information about what the focal length is, but says that the field angle is 170° (and can be switched to 127° or 90° via the menu). So what you get is wide-angle shots that are heavily distorted with an almost fisheye effect, which is excellent for capturing the sense of speed in sports. The GoPro offers a much wider angle at 1080p than, say, the ContourGPS.
The tests we ran in our labs showed better sensitivity than the ContourGPS, but the end image is still far below what a "real" AVCHD camcorder can render. And the sharpness is still very poor compared to a regular camcorder (you can just pick out the lines on a test chart). But be reassured: overall, the video quality looks good online (which is the primary use of this type of camera), simply because it's an HD video and tends to be shot outdoors.
HandlingOne thing you need to know about the Hero2 (in the case of this review, the Outdoor Edition) is that it is a package. Carefully nested inside a see-through box, it comes with a variety of accessories: a head strap, adhesive supports, a pivoting mount and a waterproof housing (the Hero2 can go to depths of up to 60 metres), allowing you to install the camera on your car, helmet or handlebar. And each accessory is compatible with previous version of GoPro.
The boxy, rectangular shape of the all-plastic casing gives it a strikingly different look than most of its kind. The HD Hero2 is a remarkably light and compact camcorder. It can be used along with the waterproof and shockproof see-through housing, so you have nothing to fear while you're flying down a steep slope. To turn the camcorder on, you hold down the button on the front for a few seconds, and a light turns on. Then you use the same button to select Photo mode, Video mode or Settings. To start recording you simply press the second button and a red light turns on to tell you it's rolling.
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| TV port, USB port & mic jack | The HD Hero2 saves recorded files onto an SD/SDHC/SDXC card (Class 4 and up) |
A mini-HDMI port enables you to connect the GoPro to a flat-screen HD TV screen and there's an audio mini-jack for plugging in an external microphone, which is rare on this type of device. This little "extra" makes the Hero2 handy for interviewing friends or sports legends. With the USB port you can backup the videos stored on your SD card and charge the battery. An analog TV port allows you to watch your videos on an an ordinary TV screen. The GoPro extension port lets you attach the various BacPac accessories, such as the LCD viewing screen or a long-life battery.
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| HD Hero2 in its protective housing (shockproof and waterproof up to 60 metres) | Adhesive mount for fastening the camera to a helmet or vehicle |
There is a small piece of film in the battery compartment that is no less than a heating system that regulates the temperature of the battery to prevent it from running out faster due to cold weather.
The minuscule LCD next to the lens is obviously not for viewing images, but for reading info such as icons, the timecode, the time remaining on the card (or number of photos in photo mode), resolution, number of images per second and the angle of view. Switching between video and photo mode, however, is rather slow.
Picture QualityThe GoPro Hero2 has an 11-Megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, which renders photos in the same resolution. But obviously the whole point behind the GoPro Hero2 is the video function. Worthy of the Full HD label, the GoPro films in 1920 x 1080 resolution at 30 frames per second and 1280 x 720 at 60 frames per second (the version we tested was on US standards). There's also a 120-frames-per-second mode for slow motion, but at a lower resolution of 848 x 480 pixels, which is still far from terrible.
The f/2.8 lens has a fixed focal length (so no zoom), which is fairly common with this type of camera. GoPro provides no information about what the focal length is, but says that the field angle is 170° (and can be switched to 127° or 90° via the menu). So what you get is wide-angle shots that are heavily distorted with an almost fisheye effect, which is excellent for capturing the sense of speed in sports. The GoPro offers a much wider angle at 1080p than, say, the ContourGPS.
The tests we ran in our labs showed better sensitivity than the ContourGPS, but the end image is still far below what a "real" AVCHD camcorder can render. And the sharpness is still very poor compared to a regular camcorder (you can just pick out the lines on a test chart). But be reassured: overall, the video quality looks good online (which is the primary use of this type of camera), simply because it's an HD video and tends to be shot outdoors.
Pros
- Waterproof housing (included)
- Mic jack
- Sturdy, straightforward accessory mounts
- Super wide-angle (170°)
- 120 frames/second mode
Cons
- Very mediocre sharpness and sensitivity
- Low battery life (30 min)
Conclusion
The GoPro HD Hero2 is a good improvement over the original. The accessory mounts are well designed and the 170° wide-angle provides grandiose HD images. A good product in its class.
OUR SCORE
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